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Where will you go when we are COVID- Free? I’m headed to the ZOO!
More than a walk in the park! The role of a modern zoo.
From rhinoceros to rhinoceros beetle; from cages to habitats; from carnival to conservation, over the last fifty or so years, zoos have transformed and redefined their role and purpose in the entertainment industry and are now fully edutainment. Zoos have been around since 2500 BCE, but have evolved into a space that is more classroom than park. Today zoos are about educating the public, preserving rare and endangered species, as well as entertaining the ever curious Homo Sapiens and their off spring.
Once upon a time, as Curator of Museum and Education at the Toledo Zoo in Toledo Ohio I heard and saw the following:
“Mommy, guess what I learned today? All ‘bout reptangles.” shouts an energetic four year old who had just meet a lizard in her zoo class called Animals A to Z.
“Mommy hurry-up, I’ll miss smoothing cool!” whines an eight year old, tears streaming down his face as he bolts ahead of her to get to Saturday morning zoo-school.
A group of teenagers is competing with their teacher by gathering more information on their scavenger hunt than she can. There’s a free coke in it for the winner. (middle school field trip)